The DIY Hair Mask for Dry, Frizzy Hair

For someone with curly, dry & frizzy hair, finding a moisturizing hair mask can be tough -- especially with the outrageous prices of some of the hair masks out there!

Photo courtesy of Fashion Minutes

I've been experimenting with mixing ingredients for more than a year now, trying to find the most effective & most simple DIY hair mask to leave-in over night -- an inexpensive remedy that actually works! After many mornings of defeat, I have finally found my perfect moisturizing recipe!

When to Make the Mask: An hour before bedtime.

What You'll Need:

• 1 large egg
• 1 cup of coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (optional)
• 2 bowls/containers
• Saran wrap or an old towel

The amounts of egg & coconut oil can be adjusted depending on how long/thick your hair is. 

Photo courtesy of The Actor's Diet

Note: Coconut oil can be found in the healthy food/organic section of your local grocery store. Besides for your hair masks, it can be used for cooking healthy everyday, so the $10-15 investment in that jar of wonder can be used on other things as well! 

Making the Hair Mask: 

1. Crack 1 egg into a medium-sized bowl, whisk or stir until the yolk is broken and mixed up into a solution. 
2. Take another bowl and put 1 cup of coconut oil (in solid state) into the bowl. 
3. Put 1 teaspoon of lemon juice into the bowl of coconut oil. **optional
4. Microwave the coconut oil & lemon juice mix in the microwave for 10-20 seconds (until the coconut oil is melted -- microwave for longer if necessary). 
5. Let the coconut oil/lemon juice solution cool for about 30-60 seconds. 
6. After the solution has cooled, pour the coconut oil/lemon juice solution into the egg. 
7. Stir the solution until it is smooth and "chunk-free"

Applying the Hair Mask:

Photo courtesy of Modern Beauty Blog

1. Go over the sink & carefully apply the mask to your hair using your hands
2. Focus on your roots & your ends, spreading the mask as evenly as possible. 
3. Once you've used up all of the hair mask, take saran wrap (or a towel... or both), and wrap your hair "turban-style" as securely as possible. Be careful to keep the saran wrap away from your nose or mouth. The saran wrap increases the amount of heat on your hair & allows for better penetration of the mask. 
4. Place a towel over your pillow before you go to bed. This is in case the saran wrap or the towel falls out of your hair! This hair mask shouldn't stain your sheets, but it may make them greasy. Let's try to keep those sheets as clean as possible.

Washing out the Hair Mask:

1. In the morning, after a restful 6-10 hour sleep, it's time to wash this hair mask out. The most effective way to do this is by showering. Note: When you feel your hair before entering the shower, it should feel slightly "crunchy," that's normal.
2. Upon entering the shower, shampoo as usual, being sure to wash all of the mask out. This may require you to shampoo your hair an additional time. (Don't forget about the hair close to your ears! That's the part I always forget). 
3. After shampooing, condition just the ends of your hair, starting halfway up the hair shaft and working your way down. 

And we're done! 
What are you waiting for? Give it a try!

After I've followed these instructions to the tee, my hair always feels bouncy & moisturized immediately after I get out of the shower. You can notice the difference much more after it's air-dried. 

If you end up trying this hair mask, please let me know how it works for you! It's now my go-to recipe. I do this once every 2 weeks & it has really improved the condition of my hair. 

Any questions? Comment below!

scent full of love,
Jordyn

Terrifying Effects of Parabens in Beauty Products

You have probably heard of parabens before. Parabens are usually used as antimicrobials in cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and even food (yuck). Parabens are usually absorbed through the skin and through the GI tract and blood system. The problem with parabens is that they mimic estrogen, so they can bind themselves to estrogen receptors by pretending they're the real deal. They can alter the expression of some of your genes, and change your hormone regulation (like by pretending to be estrogen), these kinds of weird bodily shifts create all sorts of dangerous developments, like the creation of breast tumour cells.

At this point, scientific studies have shown that different types of parabens have been found in almost all biopsy samples of breast tumours. The ones found were almost always those used in cosmetics. The downside is that parabens are so common in our products today, almost all commercial make-up, lotions, hair products, etc. that you use probably contain them… just check the ingredient lists on the back of your products!

So what do you do? Make sure you start by checking out the ingredient lists of your products, reading labels isn't just for food anymore. Don't be fooled by products with green or "eco" labels because they're just as likely to contain harmful chemicals, so do check. The safest products are obviously those that are clearly listed as paraben-free or that are certified organic. Here are some of my favourites:

• FarmHouse Fresh -- The whole line is Paraben AND Sulfate free, and the majority of the line is Vegan and Gluten-Free. What more could you ask for? Oh right, it's beautifully delicious scents and whimsical packaging. It's a treat to use these products. Check them out here: http://www.smellypatch.com/category-s/47.htm

• Principessa Beauty --  100% Paraben Free and 100% Feminine. This line is so pink and so pretty AND based in Vancouver, Canada. Check them out here: http://www.smellypatch.com/category-s/33.htm

What are some of your favourite paraben-free products?

Source: http://www.eatdancelive.com/2012/01/paraben-problem-natural-beauty-care.html 

Spring Dresses 2012

This post will definitely be updated as my online creeping for cute dresses continues...


I am so excited to start wearing pretty spring dresses -- it was 20 degrees in London, ON today and I was dying to get my favourite floral dress on! With all the warmth in the air, and dresses on my mind, OF COURSE I went browsing online for some beautiful clothes.

Here are some of the spring 2012 dresses I'm currently coveting:

That's lots of lace and lots of short hemlines! Bring on summer!

Which is your favorite dress? What trends are you loving this Spring 2012? Let me know in a comment below!

Candy Cane Red Velvet Trifle Recipe

This is the recipe we'll be making for Christmas Dinner this Sunday! We found it in LCBO's "Food and Drink" magazine.... yum!

This trifle takes trendy red velvet cake right into the holiday season. Red and white layers visually mimic a candy cane and a hint of pepper mint balanced against cream cheese and white chocolate takes it over the top for a trifle all ages can enjoy. If you can’t find peppermint oil for the cream, you can substitute about ½ tsp (2 mL) peppermint extract. For a different presentation, this recipe works equally well made in 6 to 8 individual portions.

CAKE:

• 2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour, spooned in and levelled off
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) red food colouring
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
• 1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
• 1 tsp (5 mL) apple cider vinegar

** If you don't want to make cake from scratch, buy Devil's Food chocolate cake mix instead

CREAM CHEESE & WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

• 1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
• 6 oz (175 g) white chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 mL) deli-style cream cheese

PEPPERMINT CREAM:

• 2 cups (500 mL) whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) sugar
• 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) peppermint oil (or to taste)

GARNISH:

• 2 tbsp (30 mL) crushed candy cane

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit (160 degrees Celcius)
2. Butter a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan and line the bottom with parchment paper
3. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
4. Beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl between additions. Add food colouring and vanilla until uniform.
5. Add a third of the flour mixture to the batter, beating until combined. Add half of the buttermilk. Repeat, adding alternating ingredients until all the flour mixture and buttermilk have been incorporated.
6. Combine baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl, and stir until it foams. Add to batter and mix just until fully incorporated. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out on a rack, remove parchment paper and cool fully. Reserve.
7. To make ganache, bring cream just to a boil on medium heat. Remove from heat, add white chocolate and let stand, stirring occasionally, until white chocolate is melted and mixture is combined.
8. Place cream cheese in a bowl and whisk in white chocolate mixture a little at a time until fully combined. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until ganache is cold and slightly thickened.
9. To make peppermint cream, beat cream with sugar and peppermint oil until it holds soft peaks. Reserve.
10. To assemble, cut cake into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes with a serrated knife. Spoon about 1/3 cup (80 mL) of ganache into the bottom of a large glass trifle dish or decorative bowl. Place half of cubed cake into dish fitting them tightly to make a single layer. Spoon about 1 cup of ganache over cake to make an even layer. Dollop on a little less than hald of the peppermint cream, and repeat layers, ending with peppermint cream. Sprinkle trifle with crushed candy canes just before serving

Serves 8 to 10

Happy Cooking & Happy Holidays!

Packing for University

I've almost finished packing for university! I'm off to the University of Western Ontario in 2 days and was instructed to pack "a shopping cart" size amount...

... As you can see, I've definitely exceeded my shopping cart!

Although I'm not a big fan of packing, it's something you have to do so often in life that you have to build your packing skills sometime or another. 

If you're packing for University or College, you MUST check out this list (it's how I survived packing): http://freshmantips.tumblr.com/post/7333968292/superlist-what-to-bring-to-college

Most of my storage items were bought at Walmart - you don't really need to go all-out at IKEA or Home Sense for your first year in residence. Something I did invest in, however, was my beautiful comforter :) With an all-white room, I wanted a big splash of color, and found it at Bouclair! It's called "Frenzy" and is my absolute favorite item I've packed so far! 

I'd love to hear your packing stories and how you've managed to deal with packing for your post-secondary experience! Comment below and share :) 

scent full of love,

Jordyn xoxo

Something Beautiful: September 2nd

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
A year in the life?

How about love?
How about love?
How about love? Measure in love

Seasons of love. Seasons of love...

And the Winner is...

Congratulations to Miss Callie Weatherbee for winning the SP Beauty contest on Facebook! She will be receiving 12 full sized beauty products, one every month for 12 months. We just hand-delivered her first order... a big tasty jar of Whoopie Cream:

We love it too, Callie! If you want to try out the infamous Whoopie cream as well, you're in luck because it's currently on sale for just $24.97. Get it while it's still in stock!

scent full of love,
Jordyn xoxo